A union representing thousands of state workers is filing another labor complaint accusing the Mills administration of bargaining in bad faith.
It’s the eighth complaint filed by the union in the last seven years. It previously filed a complaint with the Maine Labor Relations Board in November.
Both the Mills administration and the leaders of the Maine Service Employees Association, Local 1989, have accused each other of not negotiating in good faith after mediation failed to produce an agreement.
The more than 9,000 workers in administrative services, maintenance and support services, professional-technical services and supervisory services have been working without a contract since last June.
MSEA had been seeking 5% wage increases in each year of the two-year contract, while the Mills administration proposed 2% annual increases plus a $1,250 signing bonus for each employee.
After mediation failed in December, the union requested an independent factfinding review, which recommended a 2.5% increase in the first year and a 3% increase in the second, plus the signing bonus.
Union representatives said at a press conference Monday at the State House that union negotiators are prepared to accept those recommendations. But the state is not.
“I can assure you that nobody on our bargaining team is happy with the factfinders’ recommendation,” said Rebekah Koroski, who serves on the bargaining committee. “We know that every state worker is worth more than that. But we also recognize the need to move forward in these negotiations, so we’re willing to accept their recommendation on wages.”
The administration defended its lower offer, saying several other state unions accepted similar 2% annual pay increases. That includes the judicial branch agreement, which was negotiated by the MSEA.
Sharon Huntley, spokesperson for the Department of Administrative and Financial Affairs, said in a written statement that the administration and state lawmakers have increased state wages by at least 29% over the last seven years.
Huntley criticized the union for not allowing members to vote on the administration’s offer.
“The MSEA has not — despite 18 months of collective bargaining — sought a full membership vote on the state’s salary proposal, relying instead on a small group of members to speak for all,” Huntley said. “This has ultimately prevented significant raises, cumulatively exceeding 4 percent and a lump sum of $1,250, from going into effect for nearly 9,000 state employees for six months.”
MSEA spokesperson Alec Maybarduk said in an email Tuesday its bargaining team has met with and polled members throughout the process, including two weeks ago. Members made it “overwhelmingly clear that the state’s offers are unacceptable,” he said.
And Mark Brunton, the union president, said Monday the administration’s latest offer is less than its previous “last, best offer,” and that it would result in workers losing between $800 and $1,000.
“They are regressing,” Brunton said. “They are moving backward. That is not good faith bargaining. That is bad faith, plain and simple.”
But Huntley pushed back on that claim, suggesting the union was acting in bad faith.
“Whenever the MSEA wishes to act in good faith and negotiate,” she said, “the Administration is ready to deliver raises to its members on par with those other state union members are currently receiving.”